Passing (2021)

IMDb plot summary: "Passing" follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.

Directed by Rebecca Hall. Starring Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, and Andre Holland.

Passing is the story of a light-skinned black woman and a friend from childhood who she runs into years later and discovers is passing as a white woman. They rekindle their close friendship, despite the friend's husband being overtly racist and not knowing either woman is black. This is a fascinating movie that has a lot of different layers to it, especially in examining the idea of "passing" both within a racial orientation context and a sexual orientation context. Tessa Thompson as our protagonist is especially compelling, bringing a quiet desperation to her character's role as we see that she doesn't really feel content with her place in the world. The choice to shoot the cinematography in black and white obviously has thematic symbolism but also adds an artistic dreamy quality to the story, which is really compelling. I'm not entirely sure that I am satisfied with the way that it ended -- not in the sense that I need a fully resolved ending, but in that I'm not sure that I got everything from it that I was supposed to. But it was an interesting ride and worth watching for the performances if nothing else. This is also one where I want to read other commentary on it and learn about the pieces of this that I might have missed on my first watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Passing < Gas Food Lodging

Passing > War of the Buttons (1994)

Passing > The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

Passing > Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Passing > Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam

Passing > Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmelites

Passing > Seasons of the Heart

Passing < A Cure for Wellness

Passing > Hellboy

Passing > Star Trek: Nemesis

Passing > Le Week-End

Final spot: #1783 out of 3536, or 50%.